Revenue inches up at France Telecom

Empty

PARIS -- France Telecom saw a slight but steady 2.8% rise in consolidated revenue in 2007 to 53 billion euros ($77.4 billion), the French communications group said Wednesday.

After strong fourth-quarter growth of 3.6%, the group saw its gross operating margin jump 3.4% to 19.1 billion euros ($27.9 billion) and its group share of net income hit 4.6 billion euros ($6.7 billion).

France Telecom hopes to maintain an organic cash flow of 7.8 billion euros ($11.4 billion) in 2008, with an investment rate at about 13% of revenue "in the context of moderate growth of the main Western European markets, continued development of new services, and the continuation of a favorable trend in markets with high growth potential," the group said in a statement.